As a Detective that investigates homicides and violent crimes, I spend a substantial amount of my time in emergency rooms. To be honest I focus a lot of my attention on my victims of homicides, but never really took the time to think about all my victims who have been shot or stabbed who actually survived their injuries. Almost as if them being victims didn’t count, after all they survived, right?
I have learned that the first 24 hours after surgery are critical, every breath you take, every fluid you make is meticulously recorded and analyzed, celebrated, or mourned, but what about the next 24 hours.
I have learned that the goal of any surgery is total recovery, to come out better than you were before. Some patients heal quickly and feel immediately relief. For others they heal gradually and it is sometimes months or even years later that they realize they do not hurt anymore.
We all experience the bruises and pains of life. Some bruised are minor scrapes that we hardly notice and we continue to function. Some bruises are much deeper and they are painful to the touch. Believe it or not, pain has a purpose. It is the brains way of reminding you that that area is injured and you need not bother it, because it is not fully healed. Many times we experience horrible pains that we believe are so severe that we cannot recover and we cannot see past today.
In a perfect world there would be no pain, no sorrow, or no guilt, but we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a world marred by human beings who have human experiences which are painful and our pains are a matter of life. But lest not forget that in this life there is also majesty and wonders and joys and pleasures, and all the things that make life beautiful and a gift from God.
Often times after the pain is gone a scar remains where the injury was. Although the area is no longer is in pain, the scar remains as a reminder and indicator of what you’ve been through. The thing that we thought was going to take us out didn’t and we survived. So lets look back over our scars and wear them as almost a badge of honor that we are still standing. A little battered, a little bruised, maybe missing a body part, but still standing.
So the challenge after any surgery is to be patient. But if you can make it through the first few months, if you believe that healing is possible ,then you can get your life back. But that is a big IF.